In this blog ...
* I want to teach someone who wants to learn to sew but has no one to show them how.
* I want to instill in someone the love of sewing
* I want to teach them to want to go that extra step to achieve a garment that is special and professional looking.

Friday, November 22, 2013

Pockets with a Difference, Part 1

For a long time I've been wanting to write posts about different types of pockets. I'm therefore going to say that this is the first in a series.

This week's pocket is one I got from Vogue 8065 which I've made many times as you see in the composite below.

I pretty much changed the pockets a little for each version. I'll explain how these pockets are constructed and I'll include my new version.

There are two pattern pieces for these pockets. ( if you want to make them, the pocket which I've placed on grain in the photo. measures about 10" by10" but shaped as you can see. The facing piece is 6" by 3". )

1. First mark carefully the placement of the pockets on the inside of your garment. Baste around this placement so you can see the placement on the outside of the garment.

2. Now mark the placement of the opening of the pocket on the outside of the garment using the facing pattern piece.. On the inside interface this spot to support the opening.

3. On the wrong side of the facing piece, mark the lines for the opening of the pocket and stitch so it is visible on the right side.. On this version, I used a welt opening.

4 .Place the facing piece in the marked position on the right side of the garment. and stitch along the stitching line. ( In my newest version of these pockets, I added a pocket flap. This must be placed between the garment and facing and then stitched.)

5. Clip carefully from top to bottom of the welt and turn this to the inside and press carefully.

6.On the outside,top stitch around the facing following the basting stitches. Top stitch around the welt opening .

Now you are ready to sew the pocket to the wrong side of your garment.

5. Finish around the wrong side of the pocket using a Hong Kong finish or by serging..

6. Using Steam-a-Seam, affix the pocket to the marked placement lines

7. Turn your garment to the right side and using the basting line as a guide, top stitch around the pocket once or twice, whichever you prefer.( On my newest version, I sewed trim around the outside of my pockets).

Your pocket is complete! Isn't it lovely and a nice design detail for a coat, skirt, or in a smaller version , a top or dress?

Here are closeups of the pockets on the garments in my collage.

In this one , the opening is in the middle of the pocket and not on the side.

For this one, I worked from the wrong side of the coat to bring the slot facing to the outside.

For this one, I slanted the opening a bit.

My newest version. To see more on this coat , look here at Sew Passionista by DIANA.

You could make smaller versions of this pocket, change the placement of the opening. Sew the pocket to the outside instead of the inside as I've done, and I'm sure we could think of other ways to use this great pocket technique.

Thank you! Is the 'new sewers" and "just for beginners" located in the same area on your blog? I'm a beginner and have sewn SOME, but very little. No experience with pockets and hope to glean from you post above. Thanks again. :-)

Welcome Wanna Sew. Yes they are. But if you look at the section above ,you will find a lot of information on the Learning to sew sites that I've limked to.. Also on my right side bar, There are other topics that might help you under Diana's Hopefully Helpful Hints and Diana's Tutorials.. Please let me know if you need some help on any specific problems . My Email address is dda@nbnet.nb.ca

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Just For Beginners

I'm adding this new section under the titlePages (for New Sewers) just below. It's just for those people who don't already sew or who do but are not having good results. To access the topic just click on it and the page will appear. It isn't a post and you can't find it by scrolling down the various posts.

DIANA'S SIMPLE FITTING SOLUTIONSI want to emphasize that these fitting solutions are what works for me and what I share with my students. I don't claim to be an expert on this topic. I've gathered this information from various sources.